Longwood developer awaits sentencing in S.C. corruption case

Richard Zahn

Leroy Burnell

Leroy Burnell

Mary Shanklin, Orlando Sentinel

A Longwood developer who once pushed the button to start his company's implosion of the old Amway Arena is awaiting sentencing for attempting to bribe South Carolina officials with a Porsche, pricey meals and strippers.

The path that led ZMG Construction Inc. founder Richard G. Zahn to become a high-rolling businessman and a central figure in a corruption investigation started in an unlikely place: a paint store. Within 20 years, Zahn went from selling paint to running the Longwood construction company.

Along the way, he amassed wealth that afforded him private jets, exotic boats, expensive cars and a multimillion-dollar estate next to the Longwood home of NBA player Dwight Howard.

Priced at $4.2 million, Zahn's 6-acre estate, with resort-style pool and courts for basketball and volleyball, is expected to be sold this month. Zahn, 46, said he has retired from ZMG and is managing personal investments and downsizing.

Zahn, who built apartment complexes throughout the South, pleaded guilty last year on federal corruption charges and testified against other defendants last month as part of a plea deal. According to an FBI release, he offered to give a South Carolina State University official a new Porsche Cayenne SUV in exchange for help in selling his ranchland to the university.

In addition, Zahn spent about $8,000 flying South Carolina officials to Orlando in December 2010, renting a limousine for them, wining and dining them and paying their tab at a Westin Hotel and expenses at Rachel's strip club, according to his testimony. Zahn also testified that he hired two strippers to return to the hotel with the officials.

"I discovered that I was wrong and admitted my guilt, I worked with the authorities to right the wrong act, accepted a plea, and testified accordingly," Zahn said in an email to the Sentinel.

Before Zahn left ZMG in December 2012, it won contracts on publicly funded projects, including the demolition of the old arena and the eventual construction of bus lanes in the Creative Village planned for the arena site.

In exchange for Zahn's testimony, the federal judge overseeing the corruption case may give him probation rather than prison time, though no sentencing date has been set. Ten days after Zahn testified in late June, a jury convicted Jonathan Pinson, former chairman of the South Carolina State University board of trustees,on 29 felony counts, including racketeering.

Zahn, who graduated from high school in Myrtle Beach, S.C., was connected by an old friend to Pinson. According to the FBI, the two discussed an arrangement in which Pinson would get the Porsche and Zahn would get help in selling a 121-acre tract known as "Sportsman's Retreat" to South Carolina State, according to the FBI.

"Pinson requested a Porsche Cayenne for his assistance with selling my ranch, even though he was chairman of the board for the university," Zahn said, reiterating his testimony. Zahn added that the deal was not related to ZMG business. "I was notified by the authorities that this was a problem and asked to cooperate."

The Porsche was not the only enticement. He testified that on Dec. 15, 2010, he flew Pinson, Columbia, S.C., Mayor Steve Benjamin and two other South Carolina State officials to Orlando on his own jet. He took them to dinner and the strip club before paying $1,000 for two strippers to return to the Westin with the officials. He had been discussing a public-housing development in Columbia with Benjamin, according to testimony.

About three years ago, Zahn won a $1.7 million contract with Creative Village Development LLC to manage the demolition of the Amway Arena for redevelopment purposes. The village is envisioned as a technology-oriented education, housing and retail complex.

Zahn said he had little to do with the demolition contract and attended a few staff meetings with the city. But in March 2012, it was Zahn who pushed the button that ignited one of the biggest implosions downtown Orlando has ever seen. He said last week that he did the honors only ceremonially as chief executive officer of ZMG.

Zahn also led ZMG when it won a $4.7 million contract to construct roadways for Lynx buses at Creative Village. Craig Ustler, the developer of the project, said ZMG made him aware that Zahn had left the firm following his legal problems.

"It did not affect us directly, so we did not look into it in great detail," Ustler said last week. He added that he worked mostly with other members of ZMG, and the firm "did a good job, and we never had any issues with them as far as a construction manager."

The reins of ZMG have been passed to Zahn's longtime associate Mark Filburn, who has served on boards for MetroPlan Orlando and the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority. Filburn said the firm stands on a strong reputation nationally and had no role in Zahn's South Carolina dealings.

"He is a good guy who got caught up in an unfortunate situation," Filburn said.